Senegal's bestselling newspaper, L'Observateur, described the ban on Charlie Hebdo as a "bluff" by President Macky Sall, who was widely condemned for taking part in the Paris march on Sunday. It questioned how he could have marched in Paris for press freedom, only for his government to then ban the magazine's edition depicting Prophet Muhammad.

The government has to walk a fine line between taking a stance against terrorism and not showing support for a publication seen by many Senegalese Muslims as anti-Islamic.

Although many people condemned Mr Sall for taking part in the march, prominent Muslim cleric Serigne Modou Kara defended him, saying his attendance was necessary because of the close ties between France and Senegal.

Meanwhile, a campaign group has called for a march in Dakar on 24 January under the slogan "I am African" in response to "I am Charlie", to highlight the plight of Africans who are are victims of violence, especially Nigerians under attack from militant Islamist group Boko Haram.